Medical technology company Bonesupport is starting up a subsidiary in Germany, which is to build up new sales channels and expects to recruit a further 3-5 people in the next year. Bonesupport has also signed a distribution agreement with Italy’s BioTis, which includes exclusive rights to Bonesupport’s products in both Italy and Slovenia.
“The German market is potentially the second largest in the world for injectable bone substitute and is strategically important for us,” says Fredrik Lindberg, CEO of Bonesupport. “We’re now taking the leap into the European market, where we have consciously chosen Germany and Italy as our first markets.”
The need for an effective treatment for fragility fractures is considerable. In Germany alone, around 335,000 people suffer from this type of problem each year. This entails huge costs, estimated at EUR 5.4 billion in the German market.
The German subsidiary will be responsible for developing the markets of Central Europe, and new sales channels will be developed in parallel with the company signing contracts with local partners. Bonesupport expects to recruit 3-5 people in the first year.
“We’ve carried out an extensive clinical study in Germany, and starting up the subsidiary is a natural way of building on the experience and relationships built up,” says Lindberg.
Bonesupport has recruited Christian Fasser to the German company as VP Sales for Central Europe, responsible initially for establishing sales channels and sales in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He comes most recently from ev3, a leading global medical device company focused on endovascular technologies, and also has many years of experience of the medical device industry from global players such as Baxter Healthcare, Bard and Boston Scientific.
Italy is the fourth-largest market for synthetic bone material in Europe. There is considerable demand from doctors for a synthetic alternative for the treatment of bone defects and fragility fractures. The distribution agreement with Italy’s BioTis runs initially to 2009, and the first delivery is expected to be made before the end of this year.
Bonesupport expects to obtain CE mark shortly for both its products: CERAMENT™|SPINE SUPPORT and CERAMENT™|BONE VOID FILLER. Earlier this year the company started up a subsidiary in the USA and launched its first product there: CERAMENT™|BONE VOID FILLER.
The injectable bone substitute CERAMENT™ has considerable market potential the world over. The global orthopaedics market is worth billions of dollars a year, and the potential market for the treatment of spinal fractures, for example, is expected to be worth more than USD 2 billion within the next five years in the USA alone. Growth is estimated at around 50 per cent annually.
Further information:
Fredrik Lindberg, CEO BONESUPPORT AB Tel: +46 286 53 70 or +46 708 86 53 70 Ian Kirkwood, VP Marketing & Sales, BONESUPPORT AB Tel: +46 286 53 79 or +46 706 16 53 58
Press photos are available from www.bonesupport.com
About BONESUPPORT AB
BONESUPPORT AB is an innovative Swedish ISO 13485 certified medical technology company focused on the development of injectable ceramic bone substitute for the treatment of various defects, including fragility fractures caused by osteoporosis. The company’s first product, CERAMENT™|BONE VOID FILLER, is currently being launched in the USA. BONESUPPORT AB was founded in 1999, currently has 24 employees, and is based at Ideon Science Park in Lund, Sweden. It has subsidiaries in the USA and Germany.
